Saitama’s #1 free children’s centre? Ageo Kodomo-no-Shiro

Saitama has a large number of superb free children’s (community/ play) centres, called jidokan or jido centre “jidose” (児童館・児童センター）. Many mothers agree that Ageo’s kodomo-no-shiro, “children’s castle”, is among the best. In terms of size, equipment and diversity, I would personally rank it as number 1. My children go regularly and they have never tired of it. There is plenty of play equipment, toys and games as well as various rooms including a library, a gym hall and a workshop. Each floor has a rest area with vending machines and toilets. There is a dedicated baby room on the ground floor with free guidance on scheduled days. Also on the ground floor there is a play area restricted to babies and toddlers two and under. There is a large space outside to play as well as a playground in the adjacent park.

Ageo’s Kodomo no Shiro, Children’s Castle in Photos

As you come in from reception the ground floor boasts lots of climbing equipment and slides.

Off to the right of this is a rest area where there are vending machines and bathrooms, including a family bathroom. There is also a space to play games that you can borrow from reception.

The baby room with consultancy is located beside the game and rest area. The baby and toddler play room is at the back of the ground floor on the left handside.

Also, on the ground floor is a gym hall (not pictured) and the exit to the open space and sandpit. From the car park you can see an outdoor playground, but you need to go out of the community centre to access it.

One of the rooms upstairs changes toys periodically. For example, one week they might have “mamagoto” (playing house) toys, another they might have baskets of blocks and foam jigsaw.

There are other rooms including a library and a workshop upstairs that are not pictured.

ACCESS: Located near the Ario in Ageo. Free parking. By public transport; you can get a bus from JR Takasaki line West exit for 西上尾第二団地 (Nishi Ageo dai ni danchi) and alight at the “Kodomo no shiro mae” bus stop.

Reblogged this on Free But Fun! and commented:
Elle presents a great free but fun option for families in Saitama! To be honest, she has presented many great ideas, so if you are heading to Japan you may want to poke around her blog a bit more.

I’ve often wondered about their funding. Our local free play centre isn’t nearly as big or decked out as this, but it does have lots of toys. I hope they take hand-me-downs, because I would love for our used toys to go to our local centre where I know they will get more use and love. And as a way of saying thank you for all the wonderful playtime we have there. Japanese people are generally very good for passing things on. For my eldest I barely had to buy anything; family, friends and even neighbours I barely knew (then) gave us their used clothes, baby baths… even a buggy and high/lo chair – all in pristine condition. 🙂

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